The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– Drex (2)

We immediately began preparations to depart for the Huernite Kingdom.

Our destination: the Waldia Forest, in the east of the Huernite Kingdom.

As we were preparing, though,

a problem arose.

We had intended to hurry on horseback, forgoing a carriage, but

Lettie and America confessed that they did not know how to ride.

I wondered if we would have to rent a carriage, after all –

when Lettie spoke.

“Hero, couldn’t two people ride on one horse?”

“I suppose that would be possible, but…”

I worried about the fatigue of the horses, and the discomfort of the ride.

So I asked Amelia and Asia what they thought.

“What do you two think?”

“I hate it!”

“I like it.”

Amelia agreed, Asia refused.

Leaving aside my own, somewhat ambivalent opinion-.

“Then, it seems best to do as Letty suggests.”

The majority decided.

But-.

“…”

Asia’s expression soured in an instant.

I noticed immediately.

Thanks to Letty.

“Then, I shall ride with Sir Arthur!”

To ride astride a horse with a man.

It seemed Asia was, perhaps, feeling a touch of jealousy towards this arrangement.

However-.

‘It can’t be helped.’

She says she can’t ride; what am I to do?

It’s not as if I can teach her in such a short time.

But then, an unexpected complaint arose from another direction.

“I’ll ride with Arthur.”

“Amelia…?”

Amelia was joining the fray.

Honestly, I was taken aback, but,

strangely, it made a certain sense.

Of the three of us, I was the only one Amelia had any real acquaintance with.

So, naturally, she’d want to ride with me.

“I’m going to ride with Arthur-ssi!”

Asia joined the competition in quick succession.

However-.

“Asia-nim, you know how to ride a horse, don’t you?”

“You know how to ride, after all.”

Letty and Amelia simultaneously put a stop to Asia’s antics.

Asia looked at me with a pitiful gaze.

As if pleading for me to take her side.

But the same words were on my own tongue.

“Well, if you know how to ride… it would be difficult for you to ride with me.”

I couldn’t bring myself to side with her.

At my words, Asia lowered her head,

grief washing over her in waves.

Anyway-.

“The real problem is… what to do.”

Seeing my troubled expression,

Reti, as befitting a saintess,

showed a merciful heart.

“Hmm… I suppose there’s no help for it. I’ll concede. Amelia, you ride with the Hero.”

Perhaps Amelia hadn’t expected Reti to make such a choice.

She paused, silent for a moment.

Then, in a small voice, she said,

“…Thank you, Saintess.”

With that primary issue resolved,

we focused on setting off immediately.

And-.

.

.

.

“Looks like we’ll have to camp.”

“So it seems, Hero.”

Perhaps we rushed things too much.

Dusk was beginning to fall, and there wasn’t a village nearby.

We had no choice but to camp.

To speak my honest thoughts-.

‘Perhaps this is for the best.’

Truthfully, we’d stopped at inns a few times.

But I never saw the three of them talking amongst themselves.

The conversations always revolved around me.

Therefore,

I wanted them to become even a little bit closer.

With that in mind,

“I’ll take watch.”

I volunteered to take all the night shifts.

Honestly, missing a night’s sleep wouldn’t affect me anyway.

However-.

“We could just set up a warding spell, why stand guard?”

Magic flared in Amelia’s hand,

and a wide-ranging barrier materialized in an instant.

‘Ah…!’

I’d forgotten the purpose of a mage.

That was one advantage of having a mage when roughing it.

“Oh, right.”

I sighed, a heavy exhale, and cast about for another way.

The hunt.

Asia was a daughter of nobility.

Letty, a saint.

Amelia had drunk the black liquid.

So hunting would be far from their thoughts.

“I’ll go hunting by myself. None of you have any experience with it, do you?”

“…Sir Arthas, we still have enough provisions, though?”

This time, it was Letty finding fault.

But—

“It’s best to eat something delicious when one can. I’ll hunt alone, so you all can chat amongst yourselves for a bit.”

Excuses were always at the ready.

This much should suffice.

And yet—

“Sir Arthas, I’d like to help.”

This time it was Asia who spoke.

I adopted a stern, composed expression and said,

“Asia… do you know how many years it took me to become proficient at hunting?”

“Uh… no, I don’t really.”

Perhaps a year, to reach a point where a successful hunt was near guaranteed.

It took that long.

Of course, that included the time before I’d even held a sword.

‘Honestly, if Asia helped, it would be of great assistance, but…’

My aim was to increase the rapport between these three.

Therefore, I would exaggerate and refuse.

“A full two years. I spent a whole two years learning how to hunt.”

“T-two years? Even so, perhaps assisting from the sidelines is possible…”

“No! In fact, a novice assisting nearby could very well become an obstacle.”

I displayed a resolute attitude of not taking her.

“If you say so… then I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Thereupon, Asia appeared a little disappointed, but resigned herself to the idea of joining the hunt.

And so, I departed for the hunt.

Harboring a small hope.

‘I hope that by the time I return, they will have become friends.’

*

The place where Arthas had left to hunt.

The three women, still awkward with each other, began to busy themselves with separate things.

The saint, unable to bear the quiet, was the first to speak.

“U-um, shall we perhaps… have a simple conversation?”

Ameria, however, did not even acknowledge her words,

Asia responded with certainty.

“…Yes. I’ve been meaning to have this conversation for a while now.”

Asia, suddenly earnest.

Rather, it was Letty who was flustered at Asia starting the conversation.

“Huh? For a while now?”

“Yes. What do you think of Arthas, Saintess?”

A question like a fastball.

Asia wasn’t good at beating around the bush.

That’s why she had no choice but to ask so directly.

But-.

Amerie, who had been listening quietly beside them.

She, too, seemed to want to join the conversation, and turned to look at Letty.

“W-Well… the Hero and I are… romantically involved…”

Letty, embarrassed, tried to mention her relationship with Arthas.

Asia cut her off.

“I know you two aren’t really lovers! That’s not what I’m asking!”

Letty looked surprised at Asia’s words, her eyes widening.

“H-How did you know that…!”

“I heard it from Arthas. Anyway, what I’m asking is about your feelings, Saintess. No, I’ll go first.”

Asia was forthright.

She had already poured everything out to Arthas.

That’s why she could speak so confidently.

“I like… no, I love Arthas. To the point where I want to marry him!”

Asia continued to throw fastballs.

Even Amerie seemed a little surprised by her appearance.

“So, what about you, Saintess!”

Asia knew.

What kind of feelings Letty held for Arthas,

That’s why she wanted to hear it from Letty’s mouth.

“I, I also like… I love him. I admired the Heroic figure… but now, I love Arthas.”

Letty locked eyes with Asia,

And conveyed her true feelings.

And at the same moment Letty finished speaking-.

Asia and Letty’s gazes naturally turned to Amerie.

“What about you, Amerie?”

Amerie hadn’t expected the question to come to her.

The expression she had stubbornly maintained began to crack.

“…What do you mean?”

“What do you think of Arthas!”

Amerie fell into thought.

It was not something she’d ever truly pondered.

Like or dislike.

If one were to divide it by only those two,

‘It shouldn’t be this way, but… I like Arthas.’

Unthinkable, given her circumstances.

But she couldn’t help but become aware.

That she harbored feelings for Arthas.

But –

‘What these girls are saying is clearly about romantic love. So, then, am I…’

Amerie fretted.

She and Arthas were just friends.

Could there be love within that relationship?

So, she did like him, but – if asked if she loved Arthas –

Amerie didn’t realize it,

But a blush bloomed on her expressionless cheeks.

For Asia, that alone was answer enough.

“I understand. I think I know, even without you saying it.”

Next to her, Letty nodded, also understanding.

For a moment, Amerie worried if she’d unconsciously said something.

‘What… what does she think she knows…? Did I perhaps say something…? I don’t think so?’

And so, their conversation fell into a momentary lull.

It was Asia who spoke up again first.

“I… I don’t like the idea of sharing a husband with someone else.”

“T-that’s the same for me, you know? But I can still endure it even if Arthas-nim… no, my future husband, takes other wives.”

To their statement that they disliked the institution of concubines,

Amerie thought of her father.

He was the Demon King.

As one seated on the throne, he possessed many wives.

“Isn’t it natural for a being of great stature to have many wives?”

Asia began to clear her throat.

It was due to the tendencies of humans, unlike other races.

Polygamy.

Even if they weren’t outstanding, human nobles frequently took many concubines.

That somehow hit Asia right in a vulnerable spot.

“W-well, that may be so. But still…! I don’t like it. But there’s something I dislike even more.”

“Something you dislike even more?”

“I would hate it the most if I were not chosen.”

Having said that, Asia looked back and forth between Amerie and Letty.

Asia had, at times, considered herself beautiful.

Even Asia, however, felt a slight sense of intimidation,

Amerie and Leti were beautiful too.

Frankly, Arthaus could have chosen either of them and I would have understood.

That’s why Asia feared she wouldn’t be chosen at all.

Thinking that, Asia spoke words she had firmly resolved.

“So…! I’ll allow you to come as a concubine! But *I’m* still the official wife!!!”

Amerie’s expression soured.

“Says who?”

It was a remark that Amerie hadn’t particularly thought about.

Words that slipped out quite naturally.

Amerie herself was a little taken aback by them.

“My family has no choice but to accept a son-in-law. So, it’s unavoidable, you see.”

“You could just give up.”

“Ugh… I don’t want to. And why do you keep dropping formalities? You look about my age.”

Just as it was about to escalate into an argument,

Leti mediated between the two.

“Please, both of you calm down. And Asia-nim… Amerie-nim is twenty-four years old, older than the Hero-nim.”

“Eh…?”

Leti knew this fact because she had seen Amerie’s documents.

To Asia, who had never seen the documents, Amerie just seemed to be her peer.

It was a misunderstanding that arose from that.

“O-oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were my age…”

Asia quickly apologized.

An apology with a polite demeanor.

One couldn’t believe that she was the same person who had been arguing just moments ago.

Amerie nodded, accepting Asia’s apology.

“It’s okay. Well… I knew I looked a little young.”

“Still, I won’t yield on being the official wife.”

“Alright. Do as you please.”

Having answered thus, Amerie was lost in thought for a moment.

‘…Why did I suddenly get so heated over something like this?’

Without even realizing it, she had almost gotten into an argument.

Amerie was now unsure of what her own heart wanted.